Study, 1983
Does menstrual cycle affect how much alcohol women drink?
For women not on birth control, yes. They reported more negative moods before their period and drank alcohol more often to help with stress and sadness, particularly drinking alone. Women on birth control pills did not show this pattern.
What they did
32 adults (including women with regular cycles, women on birth control pills, and men) recorded their daily mood and alcohol use for two menstrual cycles or an equivalent time period. Blood tests and body temperature were used to confirm when ovulation happened and to identify the menstrual, ovulatory, and premenstrual phases.
What they found
Negative moods (anxiety, depression, and anger) were not directly linked to how much alcohol people drank overall. However, women with regular cycles reported more negative moods before their period and drank alcohol more often specifically to manage tension and sadness. They also drank alone more often during menstruation. Women taking birth control pills and men did not show these patterns.
What it means for you
For some women without birth control, the menstrual cycle may trigger mood changes that lead to using alcohol to cope, especially when drinking alone. This could increase risk of using alcohol to manage stress. The main limits are that only psychologically healthy, working women were studied, so results may not apply to all women, and we don't know about longer-term patterns.
32
adults studied
2
menstrual cycles tracked
About the study
- Original title
- Alcohol use, negative mood states, and menstrual cycle phases
- Authors
- Sutker PB, Libet JM, Allain AN et al.
- Journal
- Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
- Year
- 1983
- Study design
- Study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.1983.tb05472.x
Topics
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